Dismal Euphony "Lady Ablaze" CD

Old School Melodic Symphonic Black Metal Gothic Metal
Stavanger, Rogaland, Norway

The genesis of this EP is not entirely clear to me. It contains demos of five songs written between 1993 and 1997 and recorded sometime before 1999, after Dismal Euphony had parted ways with vocalist Keltziva and keyboard player Elin Overskott, but presumably before the band moved to Nuclear Blast, given that the EP was released on their previous label Napalm Records. Yet the EP was released in 2000, when Dismal Euphony’s first LP with Nuclear Blast (1999’s All Little Devils) had already come out. Confusing…
At any rate, in terms of music the five songs contained on the EP are halfway between the symphonic black metal the band showcased on their Napalm Records albums (Soria Moria Slott and Autumn Leaves) and their subsequent black/gothic metal days on Nuclear Blast. The title-track “Lady Ablaze” could have easily been included on the Autumn Leaves album. It offers an accessible form of extreme metal, with guitar riffs that are influenced by classic heavy/thrash metal as much as by the typical Norwegian black metal style. Another source of influence is classical symphonic music, although with the departure of keyboard player Elin Overskott, this is a less prominent influence relative to previous albums. “Lady Ablaze” is characterized by the interplay between Ole Helgesen’s dry growls – more akin to dark crooning/whispers than proper black metal shrieking – and new female singer Anja Natasha's ethereal vocals. Anja is more of a straightforward pop/rock singer compared to previous vocalist Keltziva, whose singing was very operatic. Anja also often opts for a theatrical vocal style – dramatic and histrionic, and halfway between acting and singing. It is something that Dismal Euphony had already experimented with on Autumn Leaves and that they will use even more on their subsequent albums, All Little Devils and Python Zero. Unfortunately it is a direction that does not really pay off much in my opinion, as Anja’s singing often comes across as forced, self-conscious and at times plainly cringe-worthy.
Among the other tracks, “Abandon” is based on a fun, catchy guitar riff – showing off the more accessible gothic metal direction the band will follow on All Little Devils. “150 mp/h” is instead a hark back to the early black metal days of the band, its furious tempo and shrieking vocals bringing back the clock to the times of Dismal Euphony’s first EP and full-length. The remaining two tracks are brief instrumental interludes that do not really have much to say.
Overall, Lady Ablaze is a decent addition to the band’s catalogue. The band will release two more albums before disbanding, All Little Devils and Python Zero. I find both of these albums far less interesting than the songs of this EP, so in a way Lady Ablaze represents the last album of Dismal Euphony that once in a while I still spin with pleasure.

Official promo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Official promo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Official promo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...